Gordon wants higher bounty for rogue MILF commanders

MANILA, Philippines - Administration Sen. Richard Gordon urges government to jack up to P60 million the reward for information leading to the arrest of three rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders. Gordon said millions of pesos in government money are already being spent daily to sustain the operations of the military against the three MILF commanders. "If we raise the bounty to 20 million pesos for each rogue commander, people are going to report on them. They will not be able to sleep just anywhere. Everywhere they go, people will be tempted to turn them in because of the tremendous amount of suffering that is happening in Mindanao," he said. Otherwise, he said government is spending money on shells that cost P750,000 every time they are fired. Worse, he said, such shells can hit any target at random. Gordon raised the question of how many shells were used every day to keep the pressure on the rogue commanders. Thus, he said it might be more effective to raise the bounties on the MILF commanders, similar to the capture or killing of key leaders of the Abu Sayyaf after the US government put up multimillion-dollar bounties. "We have to be smarter. You can preposition your troops in certain areas, come out with a reward system, you don't quarrel with the MILF main, you quarrel with the MILF outlaws. These are outlaws, these are terrorists plain and simple. We should apply the full force of the law against them," Gordon said. The government presently offers P10 million each for the capture of MILF commanders Ameril Ombra Kato and Abdullah Macapaar, and P5 million for Aleem Sulaiman Pangalian. Gordon, who also chairs the Philippine National Red Cross, also voiced concern over the alarming number of civilians, estimated at half a million who were displaced by the protracted conflict and were forced to makeshift evacuation centers. "We already asked for additional budget from ICRC (International Committee of Red Cross) to provide more funding for these people. They really need to be provided with assistance. It is very stressful to live in these evacuation areas," he said. - GMANews.TV